On the day of the presentation of the MCL60, the McLaren top management had proved to be extremely sincere and frank, admitting that the new car had not yet achieved the objectives set in terms of aerodynamic development.
The tests did nothing but confirm what the wind tunnel numbers told the simulator, to which were added further problems that did not allow us to run continuously during the pre-season tests, limiting our knowledge of the current package. “The problem in the tests was that some parts were a little too fragile, we had to keep those parts in order not to give way, but we are not worried. They have been reinforced”, explained Andrea Stella, underlining that now there are no worries, because the elements in the area of the front corner they have been reinforced in view of the weekend.
Problems defined as minor, undoubtedly less important than the cooling problems that had impacted the British team at the beginning of last season: “They are minor problems, there’s no concern. We are certainly a long way from the difficulties we had at the beginning of last year with the cooling of the brakes.”
Net of the low mileage in pre-season testing, the team is aware that it will still have to try to extract the maximum potential from the current package in a sort of ferrying period towards future updates, currently scheduled for the Baku round. The Team Principal of the Woking company defined it as an ambitious development programme, especially in terms of aerodynamics, which should make it possible to achieve substantial improvements.
“The tests confirmed that we are in midfield at the moment, but the midfield can be quite compact, with a couple of tenths you can be ahead or behind. I think the main goal for us is to maximize the package in the short term. but at the same time focus on delivering on our development agenda.”
“An ambitious programme, which should allow us to significantly improve in terms of lap times over the course of the season. So focus on the short-term, but also on the long-distance. Definitely on aerodynamic performance, this is our main area in terms of development It’s where we miss the most,” Stella added.
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